I’ve been using one but I’m not sure what benefits I’m getting from it. I feel like the only thing happening is I’m adding a little bit of latency to all my requests for no reason.

  • 3aqn5k6ryk@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    4 months ago

    Most people in the US use it to avoid getting letter from their ISP from downloading illegal content.

    Some people use to access other country content.

    Some people use it to avoid ISP snooping their browsing habits

    • abrahambelch@programming.dev
      0·
      4 months ago

      Genuine question: How can an ISP detect that someone is downloading illegal material if the actual content is encrypted using SSL/TLS? Is it all approximated based on the domains/IPs and the amount of data that is sent? If they can’t tell with a 100% certainty, can it be used as proof when trialed in court?

      • ExperimentalGuy@programming.dev
        01·
        4 months ago

        I’m not an expert but I’m guessing unencrypted DNS requests and potentially monitoring IPs of different torrents. DNS requests would show what websites a user is going to, and then you can always see peer IPs when connected to a torrent.

  • Andromxda 🇺🇦🇵🇸🇹🇼@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    0·
    4 months ago

    Pros:

    • Websites can’t see your real IP and thus can’t figure out your real location that easily
      • You might also be able to blend in with other users who use the same VPN server
    • Your ISP can’t see what you’re websites you’re connecting to
    • Your Network operator (e.g. a coffee shop offering public wifi) and you’re ISP can’t see your unencrypted connections (e.g. HTTP, Telnet)
    • You can bypass regional censorship or other forms of content unavailability

    Cons:

    • Your VPN provider can see everything you’re connecting to (but not the content if you use HTTPS, which thankfully has become very common), so you need to be able to trust them
    • A good and trustworthy VPN usually costs money
    • Slightly slower connection and higher latency

    Things to look out for when choosing a VPN provider:

    • No-log policy
    • Regular security audits
    • Open source client applications
    • Private/anonymous payment options (crypto currency)
      • Monero is the best option if you want to stay fully anonymous
    • Minimal information required for signing up, ideally none (some providers don’t even require an email address, they just give you a random generated Account ID)